Chelsea are progressing well in talks with AS Monaco for centre-back Benoit Badiashile ahead of a January move, football.london understands, with personal terms agreed.
Monaco, who are almost midway through the season where they bid for Champions League football once again, do not want to sell Badiashile next month but will be swayed should Chelsea offer €45million (£39.8m) for the defender. The Blues are after the 21-year-old left-footed central defender, who plays alongside Wesley Fofana for the France Under-21s side.
Badiashile has just over two years of his contract remaining at Monaco, where he progressed through the club's academy. Over the years, the Ligue 1 club have sold numerous players to some of European football's biggest sides and head coach Philippe Clement has said they will consider offers for any player should it be appropriate.
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"As a coach, we're always happy when the transfer window shuts. We'll see.
"It depends on the situations, if they're interesting for the club or not. The most important thing for me is that the players have their minds here, and that's the case."
Wolves have been really interested in signing Badiashile over the past two summer transfer windows. However, a move for the Frenchman never materialised and as he continues to impress, Chelsea have now swooped in front of their Premier League rivals.
Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly and Fofana in the summer transfer window, who both play in Badiashile's position, but the latter is currently sidelined with a long-term injury. Thiago Silva is now 38 and despite his quite unbelievable consistency at the back, he is in the latter stages of his career.
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